Hermes 3 70B Instruct vs Hermes 3 405B Instruct
Hermes 3 70B Instruct comes out ahead, 32 to 29 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
- Our pick
Nous ResearchHermes 3 70B Instruct
32/100- ECI—
- Price$0.70 / $0.70
- Context131K
- Nous Research
Hermes 3 405B Instruct
29/100- ECI—
- Price$1.00 / $1.00
- Context131K
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Hermes 3 70B Instruct is our pick
Hermes 3 70B Instruct is the better all-round choice, scoring 32/100 against Hermes 3 405B Instruct (29). It leads on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
- CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
- Lowest priceHermes 3 70B InstructHermes 3 70B Instruct $0.70 · Hermes 3 405B Instruct $1.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextAbout the sameHermes 3 70B Instruct 131,072 · Hermes 3 405B Instruct 131,072 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsHermes 3 70B Instruct: Text · Hermes 3 405B Instruct: Text
- Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
| Measure | Weight | Hermes 3 70B Instruct | Hermes 3 405B Instruct |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 55 | 48 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 0 | 0 |
| Context window | 20% | 25 | 25 |
| Overall | 100% | 32/100 | 29/100 |
Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Hermes 3 70B InstructNous Research | Hermes 3 405B InstructNous Research |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.70 (best) | $1.00 |
| Output | $0.70 (best) | $1.00 |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.70 (best) | $1.00 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 5 providers | Median of 5 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 131,072 tokens | 131,072 tokens |
| Max output | 16,384 tokens | 16,384 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | No |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Tool calling | No | No |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Open | Open |
| API model ID | — | — |
| API providers | 5 | 5 |
| Released | Aug 18, 2024 | Aug 16, 2024 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Dec 31, 2023 | Dec 31, 2023 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Hermes 3 70B Instruct$8.40
- Hermes 3 405B Instruct$12.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Hermes 3 70B Instruct or Hermes 3 405B Instruct?
Hermes 3 70B Instruct is the better all-round choice, scoring 32/100 against Hermes 3 405B Instruct (29). It leads on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
Which is cheaper, Hermes 3 70B Instruct or Hermes 3 405B Instruct?
Hermes 3 70B Instruct is cheaper at $0.70 input / $0.70 output per million tokens (median across 5 API providers). Hermes 3 405B Instruct costs $1.00 input / $1.00 output per million tokens (median across 5 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.70 per million tokens for Hermes 3 70B Instruct versus $1.00 for Hermes 3 405B Instruct (1.4× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Hermes 3 70B Instruct has not been scored yet and Hermes 3 405B Instruct has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Hermes 3 70B Instruct and Hermes 3 405B Instruct yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Note that Hermes 3 70B Instruct and Hermes 3 405B Instruct does not support tool calling, which most coding agents need.
Which has the bigger context window?
Hermes 3 70B Instruct and Hermes 3 405B Instruct share the same 131,072-token context window. Maximum output per response: Hermes 3 70B Instruct up to 16,384, Hermes 3 405B Instruct up to 16,384 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Hermes 3 70B Instruct accepts text; Hermes 3 405B Instruct accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
Yes, both publish their weights, so you can self-host them.
Which is newer?
Hermes 3 70B Instruct is the newest, released Aug 18, 2024. Hermes 3 405B Instruct came out Aug 16, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Hermes 3 70B Instruct Dec 31, 2023, Hermes 3 405B Instruct Dec 31, 2023.
How do you decide the winner?
Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Nov 2, 2026.
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